


The Stain of Love

by lannisterslioness



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ballerina Rey, Based on a Tumblr Post, F/M, Gangster Poe, Gangsters, Hades & Persephone au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-05-21
Packaged: 2018-05-26 02:39:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6220393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lannisterslioness/pseuds/lannisterslioness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Luke Skywalker lands himself in hot water with The First Order, he sends his only daughter Rey to be protected by the notorious Poe Dameron, more knowing for killing than protecting, but what happens when the two are left in such close proximity for so long? </p>
<p>***<br/>(I suck at summaries) But this is based off a number of Hades & Persephone posts I've seen on tumblr for these two!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I was given a prompt for Hades & Persephone AU, though this ended up a bit different from what was requested by the anon! But this is totally inspired by the tons of Hades & Persephone edits of Damerey I've seen floating around tumblr and I wish I had links to all of them cause they are amazing!
> 
> P.S. I got the title from a Hades & Persephone mix off 8tracks!

    Rey’s bones ached, her muscles were sore, and she was completely exhausted, yet she felt completely satisfied. Rey had been a part of the ballet all her life, and no matter how much her family or anything else changed around her, ballet was her one constant and only escape. Despite what happened with Ben, despite her father drawing into himself and leaving her to her own devices for much of her childhood, she could always depend on one escape. Nothing ever changed at the studio or during the shows, until everything did. 

 

    It was a usual night for Rey, leaving the studio a little late, worn down to the bone, and she was supposed to meet her Aunt Leia after she left for dinner. But out on the darkened streets, there was no Leia, no sign of her car or Rey’s own car anywhere to be exact, and instead there was a rather ominous looking black SUV parked right in front of the studio doors, a man dressed in a suit opening up one of the back passenger doors as soon as Rey walked out of the studio. For a moment, Rey thought maybe it wasn’t for her, it could have been for her best friend Jessika who hadn’t left the studio yet, she was always going on about all the rich and dangerous men she dated; but the man spoke her name and her stomach dropped. 

 

    “Miss. Skywalker, I’m going to need you to come with me. Your presence has been requested elsewhere.” The man said. 

 

    Rey considered running, she could run pretty fast and while the man seemed tall and lumbering, she doubted he’d be able to catch her if she got a head start. 

 

    “Your father requested you.” The man said again, he was already watching her, telling she might run and readying himself to chase her down if need be, Rey knew she had no choice then other than to hope that it actually was her father - he was known for hiding in shadow and mystery anymore, at least that was how he was the last time she saw him three years ago. 

 

    Rey gave a small nod before slowly getting into the car, situating her bag and putting her seat belt on to feel some sense of security that she was so desperately lacking in the car. There was another man in the driver seat, and as soon as the man who had opened the door got into the passenger seat, they started driving off with only the low volume of the radio breaking the silence. Rey reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone she left on silent, she started to believe the men were actually here for her from her father when she saw all the texts she missed from him, specifically saying that someone was coming to get her. Rey flicked through all of the messages before finally responding that she was on her way with whoever he sent. 

 

* * *

  
  


         It would be an understatement to say that Rey was nervous, she hadn’t seen her father in years and now suddenly he had sent strange men to come and pick her up and bring her to his apartment that she hadn’t seen since she moved out. Luke was...mysterious to say the least, Rey didn’t know what he had gotten himself wrapped up into, but if he was sending people in his stead and bringing her to his apartment, she knew it must have been a problem which only added to her nerves. The car came to a halt in front of the familiar apartment building, he still lived in the same building at least, though she doubted he lived in the same apartment from when she left. The men took her into the building and up to the top floor of the place, knocking on the door at the end of the hall before another man opened the door and let them in. 

 

    The apartment Rey used to share with Luke when she was a little girl was always warm and full of life, love, and laughter. This new apartment was stark and gray, not much on the walls except for a few abstract paintings and black furniture scattered across the open spaces. Luke was sitting on one of the large sofas, glasses hanging off the edge of his nose and he was intently reading a book next to a lamp in the dimly lit room. Across from him sat a man with dark curly hair, dark brown eyes, and someone that Rey found strikingly handsome. Once the men left, Luke shut his book and looked up at Rey, giving her a warm smile, something that she missed. 

 

    “Hi.” Rey said nervously, not knowing what else to do other than put her bag down on the floor. 

 

   “Rey, take a seat, I wanted to talk to you.” Luke assured her, gesturing to the other open seats around the room; and not wanting to sit next to her father or the stranger, Rey sat down in a chair on the other side of the living room with her bag in tow. 

 

    “So...you sent two big scary men to come and fetch me?” Rey asked warily. She knew her father had taken some odd roads with his business, but she never imagined he would get to the point of dark apartments and big guys in suits doing his bidding. 

 

    “I know, I’m sorry. I would have gotten you myself but I had some business to finish up here.” Luke sighed. “It would have made all of this a bit easier I suppose.” 

 

    Rey just nodded, the urge to move around in her seat with the stranger's eyes lingering on her, she wanted to know who he was and why he was here to begin with. His gaze shifted when Luke cleared his throat and started to speak again. 

 

    “Over the past few months I’ve gotten into some...business. Business that is a threat to you, your Aunt Leia, and Uncle Han. They’re being taken care of right now, but it’s you that I’m worried about the most, living out in Brooklyn by yourself.” Luke sighed. 

 

    “I can handle myself.” Rey stated. She’s known how to handle herself for a long time, and when he was lucid enough during the last few years she lived with Luke, he taught her how to defend herself, even how to shoot a gun. 

 

    “I know you can, but these people that I’ve gotten involved with...they’re not the best.” Luke admitted. “I just want you to be safe, and right now the safest place you can be is with Poe over here.” Luke gestured to the stranger, Rey was sure she had heard the name Poe before but not in the most flattering of ways, connected to certain things that got reported on the news involving guns and shootings.  _ Poe Dameron _ , if she remembered the name right. 

 

    “What?” Rey asked in disbelief. “No, I can handle myself, I’m not staying with a complete stranger!” 

 

    “Rey-” 

 

    ”No, I’m not your little girl anymore, I grew up, I can take care of myself!” She snapped as she rose from her chair and grabbed her bag, ready to storm out the door. “You can’t just come back into my life suddenly with all this mystery and business of yours and have me up and move to god knows where with a man I’ve never met! Though if I remember the name right, he’s not exactly the  _ safest _ man either.” She said, glaring at the stranger this time who had the audacity to smirk at her, he was actually amused by her anger. 

 

    “Movers have been at your place since you left.” Luke said. 

 

    “ _ What!”  _ She shouted, anger consuming her now, there were strangers in her home, packing her things, and taking them who knows where. “You can’t do this.” 

 

    “If I didn’t take the threats these men made seriously, I wouldn’t do this, but I need you to stay with Mr. Dameron here until it’s safe for you to be on your own again.” Luke argued. “I lost your mother to this, your cousin was consumed by it, and I almost lost my best friend and sister to this too, I’m not letting them take you.” 

 

    Rey remembered her mother’s death vividly, she was nine years old, her father still wherever he went for work, she’d walked home from school all by herself and found it odd that her mother wasn’t standing on the corner of the road as always to greet her. When she got inside the apartment, her mother was lying dead, face first in a pool of blood on the sofa, and all Rey could manage to do was call the police and curl up in a corner of the room and cry. Luke didn’t even make it home until after they were carting her body out of the apartment while a detective sat with her the entire time. He never told her when she was younger what had happened to her mother, but once she was older, he explained it all and Rey never really forgave him for that. But she learned that when he said there was danger, it was serious danger; and if he trusted this Poe Dameron to keep her safe, than with him was the safest possible place she could be. 

 

    “How long?” Rey asked, exasperated as she sat back down in her seat. 

 

    “I’m not sure, a few months at the least.” Luke answered. “These men are dangerous, and they don’t know that Poe is helping me handle all of this with his group, they won’t find you with him.” 

 

    Rey cast a look over at Poe again, his eyes were locked on her and there was still a hint of an amused expression on his face. 

 

    “What do you say, sunshine?” Poe asked with a grin, Rey just rolled her eyes and groaned. 

 

    “Don’t call me that.” Rey sighed. 

 

    “You’ll be safe, Rey.” Luke reassured her. 

 

    “...Fine.” Rey finally relented. “I don’t like it, but I don’t really have a choice, do I?”  

 

* * *

  
  


    As it turned out, Poe lived a good life in upper Manhattan - penthouse with a nice view, living room, full kitchen with all the latest appliances though they looked rarely used, and comfortable looking red sofas that lit up the cream colored living room. There were movers bringing in boxes of her things over to a room on the other side of the penthouse, they were just the last few since they had been packing her stuff for hours. When the last mover was gone, it was just Rey left standing with Poe - no suits lingering around his home like Luke had earlier. 

 

    “Why are you doing this?” Rey asked, breaking the silence of the room and wondering why a complete stranger would take her in. 

 

    “Doing what?” Poe asked innocently, heading straight for his cabinet full of liquor and pouring himself a glass of something amber colored and potent smelling from what Rey could tell. 

 

    “Taking in a strangers daughter to protect her?” Rey pressed. 

 

    “What can I say? I’m a good guy.” Poe smirked and shrugged his shoulders as he took a swig of whatever was in his glass. 

 

    “From what I’ve heard of you on the news, you’re not.” Rey countered. 

 

    “Well, your dad is on my good side, thus, you’re on my good side.” Poe said. “I wouldn’t hurt a hair on that pretty little head of yours.” 

 

    “Right, well, I have practice tomorrow so I won’t be in your hair-” 

 

    “About that.” Poe interrupted her, putting his glass down on the table in front of him. “You can’t go anywhere for the next few days, think of it as house arrest.” 

 

    “What? Why?” Rey snapped. 

 

    “Why do you think your dad had four bodyguards around his place?” Poe asked with a laugh. “It’s not good right now, after this weekend things should be calmer, you can roam all you want as long as someone is with you.” 

 

    “This is ridicules.” Rey protested. 

 

    “I know, it’s the weekend and I’m just as trapped here as you are, so much for having fun.” Poe said with a smirk “I usually have company, and well, unless you feel like coming over across the place to join me in my bed...” Poe suggested with a wink. 

 

    “Your bed will be ice cold and lonely, enjoy the company of your hand.” Rey scoffed. 

 

    “I figured, can’t blame a guy for trying. Go get some sleep, ballerina.” Poe laughed. 

 

    “How did you know I was a ballerina?” Rey asked curiously. 

 

    “The get up, and not to mention your father has hundreds of pictures of you from over the years of you dancing in nearly everything.” Poe said with a shrug. 

 

    “Oh.” Rey said and gave a small nod. “It’s over there, right?” Rey asked, pointing down the hall where she saw the last few movers go. 

 

    “Down the hall, to the left, last door straight down.” Poe answered. “You want anything?” 

 

    “Like what?” Rey asked. 

 

    Poe reached into the liquor cabinet again and pulled down a few bottles, lining them up with a glass for her. Rey walked over and took the glass, poured some bourbon, and enjoyed the few sips as the buzz set in on her nearly empty stomach, helping ease the ache in her muscles. 

 

    “Thanks.” Rey said as she put the glass down empty. “Night.” 

 

    “Night, sunshine.” Poe smirked. 

  
    This time Rey just rolled her eyes as she walked down the hall to her right, hoping that despite being completely uprooted and in a new place that she’d get a good night's sleep with the bourbon in her system now.  


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: For this chapter I wanted to show that Poe can have a soft spot for Rey (just like I believe that in some other renditions of Hades & Persephone, he would clearly get a soft spot for her), but he's still the big bad protector and you guys will see some of that at the ending ;)

    Rey never liked being told what to do, she hadn’t since she was a little girl, and after her mother's death, that sense of rebellion only seemed to intensify. So, being told that she was to stay in a strangers loft for an entire weekend, not being allowed to so much as set foot outside the door, drove her to the brink of insanity. She couldn’t sit still, nothing seemed to hold her attention longer than an hour or so, and the day dragged on. Rey had resorted to pacing around the living room, while Poe seemed more than content sitting on the sofa and watching whatever he had on the television, though Rey’s constant movements were slowly getting on his nerves. 

 

    “Can’t you settle yourself down for five minutes?” Poe asked with a groan, tossing the remote aside and glaring at Rey who still refused to stop moving. 

 

    “I’m bored.” Rey huffed. 

 

    “Sit.” Poe ordered, pointing to the love seat not far from him, and a flash of anger in his eyes. 

 

    Reluctantly, Rey listened and sat down, folding her hands in her lap and staring right at him, unsure of what he expected her to occupy herself with in this large and boring loft for an entire weekend. 

 

    “Thank god.” Poe mumbled. “Isn’t there  _ anything _ you can do that doesn’t require you leaving this loft and keeping yourself occupied?” 

 

    “Not really.” Rey protested, she was sure there was something among her things, but she was starting to like the idea of filling up the rest of the day with annoying Poe, she was stuck here with him, and he had no problems getting under her skin, the least she could do was return the favor. “I’m trapped here thanks to you and my father.” 

 

    Poe groaned and shook his head before pulling himself up off the sofa. “Alright, fine. I’ll take you somewhere, but you’re not going to rehearsal or wherever, we’ll go somewhere I have guys that can keep an eye out for trouble, okay?” 

 

    It wasn’t what she wanted, but it was better than being trapped inside the house for the remainder of the day, what little there was left of it. “Fine.” Rey agreed. “Let me get dressed, where are we going?” 

 

    “We’ll go get something to eat and come straight back here.” Poe insisted. 

 

    “Okay.” She nodded and breezed past him with a smile on her face, she’d won a small battle, and while there were still the remaining two days ahead of her, she hoped if this went well and her overly paranoid father realized that she wasn’t in immediate danger, that there was no need to stay with this stranger indefinitely. 

 

* * *

  
  


    Rey insisted on sushi, she had a deep craving for it just out of the blue, and after some himming and hawing, Poe finally relented, got some of his people to scout around a certain restaurant he knew, and they were finally on their way, surprisingly on their own. 

 

    “You look surprised.” Poe commented as he parked the car outside of the place, taking Rey’s arm more to keep her close than out of the kindness of his heart. 

 

    “I guess I just assumed that you’d have bodyguards driving us around too.” Rey stated. 

 

    “I can protect you by myself, it’s when you add other people into the mix that I’d rather be safe than sorry.” Poe opened up the front door for her but tailed closely behind, and while the place was full of people, she wasn’t surprised to see some of the familiar faces of Poe’s guards up at the front and probably scattered throughout the place. 

 

    Without a word, as if she had been expecting them, and judging from how Poe was, the hostess was more than likely waiting for them to show up with that nervous smile plastered on her face. She took them to their table, making sure not to speak, before handing them the menus and walking off, adding a barely audible “Your server will be with you shortly” as she walked away. The server was a polar opposite to the hostess, she was bubbly and upbeat, not intimidated by the people she was serving or the guards surrounding the place. Things were still a bit tense between Poe and Rey as the appetizers were served, but once they had a few drinks and dinner came around, Rey found herself almost enjoying his company. 

 

    “So, your mother was a pilot, and your father was a commander...how did you end up the way you are?” Rey questioned, she had to admit the drinks were getting to her despite the food, but she felt good, like there was a nice warm ray of sun shining down on her and warming her up, making it easier to smile and laugh and carry a conversation. 

 

    “Well, I tried following in my parent’s footsteps but, you know...there’s always that one thing that comes along that changes your path.” Poe shrugged. “Everyone has their own tragic backstories though, right?” 

 

    “Yeah.” Rey agreed somberly now, she remembered the moment that changed her, it was hard to forget the sight of her dead mother, but whether that put her on a better path or not, she supposed she would never know. 

 

    “Let’s talk about something else a bit more cheerful.” Poe noticed how her mood shifted and hoped to keep her spirits up. “Dinner alright?” 

 

    “It’s the best sushi I’ve ever had actually. I’ve never been here before.” Rey noted. “Wish I knew about this place before.” 

 

    “I’ll take you back here whenever you want, but let’s try to get through the rest of this weekend without going out, alright?” Poe asked. 

 

    “Okay.” Rey nodded, he already did break her father’s rule of keeping her in just to make her happy, and while she had been an annoyance to get out here, she couldn’t help but feel a bit grateful for him doing so. 

 

    “How is everything going over here?” The waitress stopped by the table, a bright smile on her face. 

 

   “It’s wonderful.” Rey answered. 

 

    “Good, I’m gla-” 

 

    Her words were cut short, because the sound stopped her before the bullet did, right though her chest and stopping her from speaking. Some of the blood splattered onto Rey, but she didn’t flinch, staring at their waitress wide eyed, who seemed to be staying upright out of shock of what happened to her. The rest of the place burst into chaos, more shots were fired, Rey swore she heard Poe yelling to her, but she was frozen, staring at the girl before she collapsed, Rey’s eyes on her nametag that read “Christina” before she hit the floor and all life left her eyes while the red blood stained the front of her white blouse.  

 

    “REY!” She head Poe shout this time, she snapped her gaze over to him and he was beside her, pushing her down under the tables while everyone else around them ran and more shots were fired. “Stay here!” He ordered, Rey gave a slight nod, pulling her knees close to her chest while the shots rang out and she kept her eyes on the lifeless body of Christina the entire time, wishing all of it would just stop. 

 

* * *

  
  


    She was face to face with her reflection now back at the loft, the sounds of gunshots still ringing in her ears. Once the threat was gone, Poe and his guards rushed Rey out of there, Poe drove her back here so quickly it seemed like a blur. He relaxed once they were back inside, but Rey was still so numb she couldn’t really tell, all she knew was he had blood on his hands and some on his shirt, and she remembered the faint murmuring of him telling her she should go take a shower to get the blood off of her. She saw all of it now, the blood splatter on her face, some staining her blue dress, and she could only imagine what made it into her hair. 

 

    Rey stripped out of her dress, casting it aside and feeling the deep need to rip the dress up, hoping to never wear it again now that it had innocent blood on it. She should have showered, it probably would have been easier, but Rey opted for a bath, wanting to let the warm water soak into her bones and help her cope with what she had just seen. She washed what needed to be washed and just spent her time sitting in the tub, knees pulled up to her chest again, and just sitting. She didn’t think she was in there for very long, but after a series of knocks and not feeling like answering, Rey was startled by the sight of a panicked looking Poe entering the bathroom. 

 

    “Jesus, why did you answer?” Poe asked. 

 

    “Sorry.” Rey mumbled. 

 

    Poe walked over to the tub and sat down beside her, she didn’t even care if all the bubbles were gone or what he saw, she already felt so numb that nothing else really mattered. Someone more than likely tried to kill her, and because she wanted to go out despite the threats, there was an innocent woman about her age dead, bleeding out onto the tiled floor of the restaurant, being wheeled off in a body bag - her life snuffed out because Rey was childish and didn’t want to stay cooped up. 

 

    “That’s the first person you watched die, isn’t it?” Poe asked, breaking the silence and keeping his dark brown eyes locked on her. 

 

    Rey just nodded, her chin resting on the top of her knees. “If I didn’t act so childish and want to go out, she’d still be alive.” 

 

    “Don’t go playing the blame game, no one wins with that, believe me.” Poe assured her. “It’s not your fault, everyone dies at some point.” 

 

    “But she was shot because I wanted to go out!” Rey snapped, tears brimming in her eyes, now she was feeling something, a mixture of guilt, anger, and anguish. “If I had just sucked it up, she’d still be alive.” 

 

    She started sobbing uncontrollably now, and wasn’t surprised when Poe got up to his feet and walked out of the room. Rey was surprised that he returned with a box of tissues he set on the counter and a red bathroom over his arm. He opened it up and held it out in front of him, covering up his line of sight on her to give her privacy. 

 

    “Come on, let’s get you out of there. I’ll give you something to help you sleep, that’s what you need right now, nothing else is going to make this better.” Poe sighed. 

 

    Rey hesitated for a moment, but eventually she got out of the tub, the water sloshing around her as she stepped out and pulled the bathrobe around her, Poe not daring to glance down at her until she turned to face him with the bathrobe tied up and covering everything. Poe pulled out a tissue and held it out to her which Rey took to wipe away her tears. He drained out the bathtub what Rey stayed still, and not trusting to leave her to her own devices, Poe led her out into the loft and sat her down on the sofa, not caring about whether the bathrobe had dried her off enough to sit down on something. Poe went into the kitchen, rustling around in cabinets again, and this time he came back with a glass full of amber colored liquid and a bottle of pills.

 

    “One or the other sunshine, I’m not letting you do both.” Poe stated. 

 

    Rey took the glass while Poe put the pills back wherever he had found them and returned to her side, sitting beside her and gently rubbing her back as she slowly leaned over on him, her damp hair soaking his shirt, though he didn’t seem to mind. They stayed there in the silence for a while until Rey’s eyes started to droop, Poe scooped her up in his arms without much effort and started leading her towards her room. 

 

    “Wait,” Rey interrupted. “Can I...stay with you? I don’t want to be alone tonight.”  

 

    “Whatever you want, sunshine.” Poe changed directions and led her to his darkened room. 

  
    He set her down on the king sized bed with a comforter that almost matched the bathrobe Rey wore exactly. Poe turned the light on and helped her get under the sheets, making sure she had all the blankets she wanted before he got ready for bed and made sure to stay on his side, giving her space. Rey turned out the light once he was in bed, and while she appreciated him for giving her space, she didn’t want space right now, she wanted to know someone was there, so she turned over in bed to face him and moved over a bit closer. She wasn’t too far from his backside, but close enough to feel some of his body heat radiating off of him, and she finally felt comfortable enough to let her eyes slowly drift shut. The last thing she remembered before passing out was Poe turning over in bed to face her, mumbling something about sunshine before she went unconscious. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So here we are at chapter three already! I feel like I just started this one and it's already moving along pretty quickly, I just started writing chapter four last night actually :P Well, I hope you guys are enjoying all these chapters ;)

    Rey was silent for two entire days, no matter what Poe did or said, she remained silent, only answering with nods or shaking her head. Their weekend was up, they were officially out of lockdown, and after Poe got his ear chewed off by Luke for taking Rey out and the shootout that occurred, everything was settled. But then there was the problem now of that Rey didn’t want to leave the loft, her phone buzzed constantly, her friends calling her and trying to find her, but she never moved to answer it. She was sleeping in her bed, her cell phone left out on the counter when Poe heard it vibrating again for the tenth time today. He knew it wasn’t his problem, he knew he probably shouldn’t have answered it, but with a heavy sigh he got up from his chair and grabbed the phone, seeing just what exactly all these people wanted. 

 

    “Hello?” He answered, he was annoyed - that much was clear in his tone - but he tried to stay somewhat civil to whoever was trying to get a hold of Rey. 

 

    “Uh, hello?” A female voice asked tentatively. “Is...is Rey there? I’ve been calling her for two days and she hasn’t answered. She hasn’t answered anybody for that matter. And I went by her apartment and it’s all cleaned out; where is she? Is she okay?” 

 

    “Yeah, she...she moved. She’s still in the city. She’s not feeling all that great right now either...who’s calling?” Poe asked. 

 

    “Jessika, who the hell are you?” She asked a bit snippy this time, if she was one of Rey’s friends he understood exactly where she got the temper from because it surely wasn’t her mild mannered father. 

 

    “Poe, I’m a friend of hers. Is there something you want me to tell her?” He pressed. 

 

    “Just tell her to call me back and what the hell is going on, and try to have her get to rehearsals tonight, the show is in a week and if she doesn’t show up, they’re going to replace her. Can’t really do a show without the star, you know.” Jessika sounded exasperated, and if she was the one calling all this time, Poe understood why. 

 

    “I’ll let her know.” Poe said and hung up, not wanting to hear another one of her snippy questions. 

 

    Poe held the phone as he went to go knock on Rey’s door, it gently pushed open, her not shutting it all the way in the first place. Her room was dark - the blinds drawn and all the lights out - and somewhere under the pile of blankets and comforters, Rey was curled up into a little ball, her slow breathing telling him she was fast asleep. 

 

   “Hey, sunshine.” Poe said quietly, reaching over and shaking her a bit, causing her to stir and grumble in protest. 

 

    “Don’t call me that.” She mumbled. 

 

    “So she speaks.” Poe said with a slight laugh. “Your friend Jessika has been calling you non-stop, something about a rehearsal you need to go to tonight or you're getting the boot.” He laid her phone beside her. 

 

    “I don’t want to go.” Rey mumbled. 

 

    “You can’t hide in here for the rest of your life, you’ll get on my nerves.” He teased, Rey gave him a slight glare before looking back at her phone. “Come on, get dressed, I’m getting you out of here.” 

 

    “After what happened?” Rey snapped, sitting upright where Poe could see her red swollen eyes and the dark circles underneath them. 

 

    “Rey, you can’t stop living because of that. I’ve watched plenty of people die, and that hasn’t stopped me.” Poe said. 

 

    “You’re different.” She snapped. “You kill people, you’re the one who pulls the trigger and watches them die, you don’t care.” 

 

    He was trying to be nice, he truly was, and he felt sorry for the girl; but she was plucking on the wrong nerve now and he rose up off of her bed, biting down on his lower lip to keep him from bursting out on her. 

 

    “It’s who you are.” She snapped again, and this time Poe snapped. 

 

    “So what, you think I’m some kind of monster, like them?” He asked. “Guess what princess, if I didn’t save your ass back there, you’d be just as dead as that waitress. It’s monsters like me that keep your pretty little head on your shoulders.” His voice was deep and menacing, Rey flinched away from him the closer he got to her face. “You wanna stop living? You wanna just lay down and die because one innocent person got shot? Go ahead, pills are above the stove, you already know where the goddamn alcohol is, make yourself useful and save me the trouble of having to babysit you for the rest of my life!” 

 

    He marched out of the room, slamming the door behind him and causing Rey to flinch again at the sound. He hesitated outside of her door for a minute, he felt compelled to turn back and apologize, but he decided against it, storming into the kitchen and getting himself something to drink before heading to his own room, knowing that it would be the last place she would tread after an explosion like that. 

 

* * *

  
  


    It had been an hour or so, Rey got herself out of bed and showered, changed into her clothes for rehearsal, and then had one last challenge to face - Poe. She shouldn’t have pushed him like that, she knew it, she knew it before she even did it, but she did anyway because that’s who she was. He had locked himself inside his room, he probably didn’t even want to see her, but she wanted to apologize and in order to do that, she’d have to enter his room and hope he didn’t kill her himself. Rey carefully knocked on the door, anxiously waiting for a response and about ready to turn and just sit on the sofa thinking he was asleep. 

 

    “Come in.” Poe called out. 

 

    Rey opened the door slowly, and was surprised to see how opposite his room was of hers during the day. She only remembered it from that one night after everything, when he let her stay in his bed and wrap her arms around him because she was too terrified of everything else. But the blinds were open, everything was bright and clean and put together, the only spec of anything remotely dirty was the empty glass on his nightstand. 

 

    “I’m sorry.” Rey stated right away, staying in the doorway and twisting one of the rings on her finger. “I shouldn’t have said what I did, you were trying to be nice and I...I was a bitch.” 

 

    “Everyone has those days, sunshine.” Poe smirked. “I kinda snapped on you too.” 

 

    “I deserved it.” Rey shrugged. 

 

    “What are you all dressed up for then?” Poe asked, gesturing towards her outfit. 

 

    “I, uh, I was wondering since Jess called, I should probably go to rehearsals.” Rey said. 

 

    “Oh, right, yeah. I’ll get one of the guys to go with you-” 

 

    “I was wondering if you could take me...if you don’t mind.” Rey interrupted. “I just feel safer with you is all.” 

 

    Poe stared at her for a minute, phone in his hand and ready to call someone, and instead of calling who he wanted, he decided to call the driver since after three glasses of whiskey, he wasn’t about to get stupid and get Luke Skywalker's daughter killed in a car crash. 

 

    “Alright princess, let’s go. Car will be here in a few.” Poe sighed, getting out of bed and throwing his jacket on. 

 

    “Are you ever going to call me my actual name?” Rey asked curiously. 

 

    “I have a few times, it’s just the nicknames are more fun, they piss you off.” He smirked as he walked past her and out to wait in the living room. 

 

* * *

  
  


    Rey could feel all the eyes on her as she walked into the studio, especially Jessika who was shifting her gaze between Rey and Poe who had walked in with her upon her request. 

 

    “Where the hell have you been? Is that the guy who answered your phone? What happened to you?” Jessika hissed all at once, the other girls starting to either gather around or just listen in while they stretched. 

 

    “It’s fine, I’m fine, everything's fine. It’s just...a lot’s happened in the past few days, I’ll explain it later.” Rey sighed. 

 

    “Well then at least tell me that Mr. tall, dark, and handsome over there is your boyfriend, because if he’s not, I’m going to take a shot.” Jess told her with a wink and her most charming smile. 

 

    “He’s-” Rey hesitated for a moment, how else would she explain all of this without getting into stories about gangs and gunfights? Perhaps the boyfriend lie would be the least of her problems. “He’s my boyfriend, but  _ don’t _ go making a big deal about it, alright?” 

 

    “Oh my god, you never told me you had such a hot boyfriend.” Jess whispered to keep it away from the other girls. 

 

    “Just, let’s practice and I’ll tell you later.” Rey admitted. 

 

    “You better.” Jessika stated. 

 

    Rey told Jess her own version of the story in-between breaks while Poe was distracted with either calls or some messages on his phone and not keeping an eye on her. She told Jess that she met Poe a while ago, that she’d kept it secret because of how much older he was then her and she didn’t know if they’d get serious or not. Then she went on to spin the wild tale of that she decided to move in with Poe and didn’t think about calling anyone because it was all a whirlwind of moving and getting situated. The next part of her story should have made her feel more than uncomfortable since it was all she could think up, but instead is sparked a curiosity while she fed Jess the lie of that she’s been busy all weekend shamelessly having sex with him and not really worrying about anything past the loft. Of course Jess ate that part up and went on to ask how he was in bed, Rey filling it in with more les by saying he’s absolutely fantastic and if this rehearsal wasn’t so important, she’d probably still be there. Anyone else would have still questioned why she didn’t both calling back - sex or no sex - but it was a story Jess could relate to, Rey having gone through her being missing for a few days while she was shacked up with some guy, and Jess loved every second of Rey’s scandalous tale. By the end of the stories and the rehearsal, Rey was pretty sure she was even looking at Poe a bit differently, her imagination still running after making up more than a few scenarios to keep Jess satisfied, and she knew that she needed to stop letting her mind wander like that, especially before it was back to just him and her in the loft. 

 

    “Well, I hope you have fun later, but then again with a man like that, I  _ know _ you’ll be having fun.” Jess giggled before Rey walked off back over to Poe once the rehearsals were done and everyone was getting ready to leave. 

 

    “All done, sunshine?” Poe asked with a smirk as he rose from his seat. 

 

    “Just, pretend to be my boyfriend for five minutes, I had to make up this whole story to keep Jess from asking questions.” Rey whispered as she got up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Poe’s cheek. 

 

    Poe just smiled back and gave a slight nod to let her know he’d play along, taking her hand in his and pulling her close to him as the two left together, all the girls watching and whispering to one another while Jess more than likely was already telling them the tales she told her. 

 

    “What exactly did you tell them?” Poe asked curiously as they walked out of the studio. 

 

   “Just keep walking.” Rey groaned and tried to pick up the pace. “I’ll explain in the car.” 

 

* * *

  
  


    Poe and Rey walked into the loft laughing, both genuinely laughing at the stories that Rey told her friends about why she was with him. They stopped in the doorway, neither noticing just how close they were to one another until Poe rested his hands on Rey’s waist and she felt jolted awake into the very real reality that his hands were on her and she sort of liked the feeling. 

 

    “You’ve got quite the imagination, Rey.” Poe smirked, his laughed subsiding but there was still a smile on his face, Rey studying the way the corners of his eyes creased as he did so. 

 

    “You actually called me by my name.” Rey said with a sort of stunned tone but the smile still on her face, inching a bit closer, almost daring him to do the same. 

 

    She liked the thrill that was surging through them in that moment, and as always she wanted to push the limits of it, to see how far he’d go with it. He inched a bit closer accepting her dare until her breathing picked up a bit and hitched when he spoke so close to her lips. 

  
    “You better get some sleep, with an imagination like that running around, I imagine you must be tired out.” Poe smirked, pulling his hands away and taking a few steps back, leaving her there cold and almost in disbelief that he actually just pushed her buttons to get her all riled up, only to pull away and do nothing about it. “See you in the morning, sunshine.” He winked and walked off without another glance back, shutting his bedroom door behind him while Rey stood there for a few more moments before she pulled herself together and put herself to bed, hoping her imagination would stop and let her sleep. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I refused to post this chapter until I had the next one done. I started writing it after I finished this one but it gave me trouble for a good two weeks I think, and I FINALLY finished chapter five, so here is the fourth chapter! I hope you guys enjoy it, all of your comments seriously motivate me to keep writing ;)

    Rey couldn’t find an explanation for the spark she felt between her and Poe last night, it was just something that happened, she’d let herself have a good time with the man that was protecting her and suddenly she found herself wanting something else from him. Rey got up earlier than Poe, and she was almost relieved that she had since she took the opportunity to sneak into her bathroom and make herself look less like a hot mess that had just woken up from a deep sleep. She brushed her hair and stuck it up in a bun, brushed her teeth, and even went so far as to put a little bit of makeup on - hopefully not enough to be noticeable - but she had a feeling the eyeliner may have been a bit much. Rey even went ahead and changed out of her over-sized t-shirt and sweats that she slept in and traded it for a tank top and sleep shorts.  

 

    By the time Poe ventured out of his room, Rey was sitting on the sofa, watching TV, and enjoying a cup of coffee while hoping Poe would notice something different about her. He was silent, grabbing his coffee and making more coffee in the process, before he walked out into the living room and sat beside her.

 

    “Morning.” Poe yawned, not even casting a glance her way.

 

    “Morning.” Rey replied cheerfully, her happiness catching his attention and finally causing him to look her way, a slight surprised expression on his face before returning to normal.

 

    “Whoa, what happened to the old princess who grumbled and groaned and complained about the morning?” Poe asked with a slight laugh.

 

    “I got a good night of sleep.” Rey countered.

 

    “Huh.” Was all Poe said, his eyes flickering over her appearance for a moment with a slight grin before turning his attention back to the TV.

 

    Rey was a bit frustrated that it was all he had to say, she thought she might even get a smart remark out of him, but all she got was - huh. She sat there for a few more minutes, stewing in her own thoughts, before she got up and walked off to her room, deciding that sleep wear wasn’t going to cut it.

 

    “Where are you going?” Poe asked.

 

    “I’m just getting dressed, that’s all, it’s almost noon.” Rey made up the lame excuse, she had stayed in her pajamas long into the afternoon before, but she had to try something else to capture his attention.

 

* * *

 

  


    Rey had tried her best at being subtle, the best that she could either way with Poe. She’d settled for wearing a loose tank top and shorts, her hair falling in loose curls just a little past her shoulders, and hints of the lace camisole showing through certain low-cut points of the tank top. She hadn’t really dressed up for a guy in a while, and despite the fact that they had just stayed in the entire day, Poe didn’t seem to notice or really care that she had changed so drastically. Eventually, it led to Rey joining him in a few drinks and that seemed to make her bad mood slide away, to the point of where she somehow talked Poe into playing Truth or Dare with her.

 

    “Truth or Dare?” Rey asked him right away.

 

    “Uh, truth.” Poe was drunk without a doubt, Rey could see it in his eyes and the way his speech slurred ever so slightly, it didn’t help that he barely ate anything all day.

 

    “That’s surprising coming from a man who's probably got more than a few skeletons in the closet.” Rey said with a smirk. “Alright then, how long ago was your last actual date?”

 

    “My last date? Uh, god, probably five years ago.” Poe groaned.

 

    “Five years, seriously?” Rey asked with a slight laugh. “I thought you were a ladies man.”

 

    “You said last actual date, five years ago was the last time I actually dated someone; the rest has been just...well, you know.” Poe shrugged. “Your turn, truth or dare?”

 

    “Truth.” Rey answered confidently.

 

    “Alright, what’s with the whole get up?” Poe asked, gesturing to her. “You’ve been living here almost a week now and you haven’t dressed up like that ever.”

 

    “Maybe this is how I dress normally, when I’m comfortable.” Rey said innocently, hoping that a few bats of her eyelashes would get her out of this question.

 

    “No, you dressed up for a reason, and I believe you did say truth, so spit it out.” Poe grinned.

 

    “Fine.” Rey sighed. “I dressed up like this because I thought there was something between us last night, I thought I could get something from you today but I’m pretty sure you’ve been paying more attention the the alcohol than me. But it really is very comfortable to wear, which is why I’ve kept it on.”

 

    “You mean that little moment in the hallway is what made you go through all this?” Poe asked curiously.

 

    “Yes, I mean that little moment in the hallway where I thought you were going to kiss me.” Rey inched closer to him, she saw a mischievous glint in his eyes and she wanted to take advantage of it in the worst way.

 

    He inched closer to her again, they were dangerously close, and he just smiled before he spoke. “It’s my turn you know.”

 

    “Ok, truth or dare?” Rey asked.

 

    “Dare.” Poe smirked.

 

    “I dare you to take my shirt off.” Rey smirked, before Poe could even react, she had climbed over into his lap and sat perfectly still, grabbing his hands and placing them on her hips though he hesitated. “Well, come on then, it’s a dare after all.”

 

    Poe didn’t say a word, he just locked his eyes onto her, a sly grin on his face as he slowly inched his hands up under her shirt before grabbing the bottom of it. Ever so slowly, he finally got it off of her and was left to see her in nothing but the lace camisole she wore underneath it.

 

    “Truth or dare?” Poe finally asked her, keeping his eyes on her and his hands on her bare hips.

 

    “Dare.” Rey answered softly, she felt that spark creeping back in from last night and something more, a twinge of heat that she had never felt with anyone else.

 

    “I dare you to kiss me.” Poe’s voice had turned low and husky and into something Rey was sure she had never heard before, that mischievous glint in his eyes had turned into something almost feral, and when her lips met his she felt it.

 

    He took over the kiss immediately, his hands traveling up her sides and slipping under her camisole a bit, Rey letting out a stray moan from how much she enjoyed his calloused hands against her soft skin. The moan only made him deepen the kiss a bit more, establishing a dominance Rey knew he had in him, especially given what he did for a living, but when she heard a moan come out of him as well, she got lost in the kiss; tangling her fingers in his dark curls and pulling away from the kiss to kiss down his neck. They eventually parted completely, if only for Rey to get Poe out of his shirt now before returning to the kiss. He had just started kissing down her neck, heading straight for her chest when one of Rey’s moans seemed to jolt him away from her skin.

 

    “Did I do something wrong?” Rey asked nervously, afraid that she had let herself get lost in it all too quickly.

 

    “No, no, god no you didn’t, trust me. But I have done something very wrong, and you’re gonna have to go to bed sunshine.” Poe said, he looked guilty suddenly, like a cat that had just ate the canary, and just like that he scooped her up off his lap and pulled his shirt back on, taking both of their empty glasses into the kitchen.

 

    “What the hell?” Rey demanded as she got up and followed him, her shirt be damned. “That’s it? You just go ahead and kiss me like that and shows over?”

 

    “I made a promise to your father to protect you, it’s business.” Poe tried to brush it off and avoided eye contact with her.

 

    “So that’s it then?” Rey asked.

 

     “Yeah, that’s it. You’re a business deal, that’s it.” Poe’s tone was flat and serious, something she hadn’t heard from him since that night where he was commanding his men around while bullets rang throughout the restaurant.

 

    “You don’t kiss business deals like that.” Rey insisted.

 

    “What the hell do you know? You’re twenty, you’re still just a kid.” Poe snapped. “You’re too young to know the difference between when a man is kissing you just to get in your pants and when he’s kissing you because he genuinely likes you.”

 

    Rey had to admit that last part stung a bit, but she wasn’t going to let him get the best of her. If he wanted to be a jackass and toy with her like that, then fine, he could be a jackass.

 

    “Screw you.” Rey hissed, marching back into the living room and grabbing her shirt, before heading back to her room and slamming the door.

 

    Once the door was shut, she finally let a few stray tears escape, but she wasn’t about to let a jackass like Poe Dameron get the best of her, he didn’t deserve that kind of emotion from her. He wanted a business deal, he’d get one, from now on she’d just live with him until her father deemed it safe for her to be on her own again. She could be just a roommate with this miserable man, and she would do it no matter what.

 

* * *

 

  


    It took Poe an entire week before he fully realized that Rey was giving him the cold shoulder as best she could. She still had to talk to him on occasion, like when she had to go out somewhere she would have to ask him for one of his guys to go with her. He did notice that she stopped asking him to take her places, which was all well and good for the first few days until he caught on to what she was doing. Of all the nights that he figured she would break down and ask him to go somewhere with her, if only to keep up the story she told her friends about them dating, he thought she would ask him to go to her show - instead she asked for one of his other guys.

 

    “Uh, you know, they’re all tied up tonight, Friday night and all. I’ll take you.” Poe said.

 

    “Fine.” Rey sighed, going back to her room to grab her bags and get ready to leave.

 

    That was about all she said to him the entire way there, she didn’t speak in the car, she didn’t even glance over at him, she just kept her eyes on the phone in her hands and only the radio was filling up the silence between them. As soon as the car was parked, Rey practically lept out, but had to pause for a minute to dig something out of her bag and hand it to him.

 

    “Here, I had to have one for whoever came with me.” Rey didn’t even glance at him again as she handed him the ticket to the show before taking off on her own and heading towards the backstage door of the theater.

 

    Poe didn’t say a word, he figured he deserved it for being a jackass towards her last week, he just went into the theater as one of the few people showing up early and sat and waited for the show to start. It was true though, Rey was part of a business deal he had with Luke, and while it was never specifically said _‘do not sleep with my daughter’_ , he figured Luke assumed that by leaving her in his care that it would be an unspoken rule. And though Rey had become a bit of a pain in the ass, he liked her fire, he liked that she challenged him and pushed his buttons, he especially had fallen for the confidence she had in herself - that night on the sofa still playing through his mind and causing him to sit on one of the chairs instead of the sofa every night since. The theater was slowly filling up and the show was starting soon, but Poe got a last minute idea that he’d need some help with to make up for being a jackass.

 

    “Hey, Finn, I need a favor.” Poe said over the phone, knowing that having a guy whose family owned a flower shop would eventually come in handy.

 

* * *

 

  


    “I saw your boyfriend out there.” Jess stated with a grin after the show, they were all backstage and changing back into their clothes, all drained from putting on the show.

 

    “Yeah.” Was all Rey said, giving a slight nod.

 

    “Oh...you two are fighting, aren’t you?” Jess asked.

 

    “Sort of, he’s just...he’s such a jackass sometimes.” Rey groaned. “One minute he’s all for it and the next, he just shuts down.”

 

    “Well, that’s what happens when you live with them.” Jess sighed. “They’re more trouble than babies half the time. But just imagine the makeup sex if he's great in bed already.” She added with a wink, and just as Rey was about to say that sex was the problem, Jess interjected. “Speak of the handsome devil.”

 

    Rey turned around and saw Poe standing there, holding a bouquet of bright red roses in his hands. She didn't know if this was part of him keeping up the boyfriend story or a genuine gesture until she walked over to him.

 

    “What's the occasion?” Rey asked a bit coldly, not sure of his intentions just yet.

 

    “Well, first of all, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I showed up without flowers after an amazing show like that? And second, I'd have to be an even bigger jackass than usual if I didn't notice that I severely pissed you off and didn't even make an attempt at an apology for saying what I said and letting that night venture a bit too far.” Poe sighed. “I know they're just flowers and I can't really make up for what I said but, it's a start I suppose.”

 

    “It is a start.” Rey mumbled and took the flowers, she had to admit they were damn beautiful, especially for something he must have gotten last minute.

 

    “And to be fair, if you forgive me, your father never specifically stated that we couldn't have some fun.” He leaned over and whispered to her.

 

    Rey wanted to stay mad in the most desperate way,but there was a part of her that wanted to make him suffer and maybe tease him a bit, she figured there wasn’t any harm in that after the way he left her hanging that night.

 

    “Honestly, he probably never thought I'd like you either way. You're stubborn, you lash out, and you have a bad habit of leading people on with that damn smirk.” Rey sighed. “But, I suppose I could forgive you for now.  Be a jackass again and flowers won't make up for it.”

  
    She gave him a kiss on the cheek, and pulled away quickly just as Poe went to go in and give her a kiss. Rey had a broad grin on her face as she did so, and Poe seemed to catch on right away that though the flowers got her to talk to him again, he’d have to work a lot harder to get what he wanted.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So...I've kinda been in a love/hate relationship with this chapter, mostly because I felt like I rushed something? I tried to write a different version of the chapter and it didn't work, I just hated it and all the dialogue felt forced to me, this chapter I already wrote just felt like it flowed better. Let me know what you guys think, hopefully you like this chapter because honestly, I've come to like it a lot more over the past few days.

    Rey knew that Poe was restraining himself now, he wanted to be near her, but at the same time he kept a distance, not wanting to step into the same problem again. But he would let Rey take ahold of his hand or rest on his shoulder, sometimes he’d even wrap his arm around her if they were just sitting on the couch. He wasn’t exactly playing into her little cat and mouse game that she tried and eventually gave up on after a week, but he was reciprocating in those small little ways instead of running away from her like she had a contagious and deadly disease. But Rey was getting antsy again and she knew she was going to try and push it sooner or later, today just so happened to be the day. 

 

    “Where are you going?” Rey asked curiously, Poe was calling one of his guys, Finn, to come and sit with Rey while he went out. 

 

    “Meeting.” Poe sighed, it wasn’t very descriptive, then again, her father had never been when she was younger.  _ Meeting _ could have meant anything from an actual meeting to something like the shootout from the restaurant. 

 

    “Are you going to be back for dinner? I was thinking of ordering Chinese from that place down the street.” Rey was trying to be as casual as she could possibly be while she got up from the sofa and walked towards Poe. 

 

    “Uh, I’ll try. I don’t think I’ll be too late, I’ll let you know.” Poe shrugged and stuffed his phone back into his pocket. 

 

    “Okay.” Rey said. “Just...be careful, okay? Don’t know what I’d do without my protector.” Rey admitted sheepishly as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before retreating back to the sofa, still remembering the last time she kissed him which lead to one of their explosive fights that they just couldn’t seem to avoid. 

 

    “I’ll be fine.” Poe assured her with a small smile, he’d been gentle with her the past week to say the least, he didn’t snap or yell or let anything get the better of him, he barely even drank, he just stayed by her side in the apartment, taking her to the studio and wherever else she needed to go. “Try not to have too much fun without me, and stay out of the whiskey, I like that whiskey, you can drink everything else that’s up there, but not that, at least not without me.” 

 

    “Whatever you say, commander.” Rey laughed. 

* * *

 

  
  


    “All I know is that for the next solid two weeks, I was pouring sand out of my boots.” Poe heard Finn say as soon as he walked back into the apartment, telling Rey his famous story about trudging through the desert, searching for this one rare flower for his mother that she always wanted to see but never found, it was a story he told everyone he met. 

 

    Rey laughed, and from the sight of it, he couldn’t tell if she was laughing from genuinely liking the story, or laughing because she’s had a few drinks already since she was sipping on one right now that suspiciously looked like his whiskey. 

 

    “Hey!” Rey cheerfully greeted him as soon as he shut the front door, the glazed look in her eyes telling him she’d had a few already, but thankfully Finn stayed sober and kept to just eating his Chinese food that was sitting on the coffee table in front of them. “Your food is in the microwave, in case you want to warm it up or something.” 

 

    “You two look like you’re having fun.” Poe commented as he walked into the kitchen, noticing the bottle on the counter and seeing that Rey had in fact helped herself to a glass or two of his whiskey, he knew she would do it as soon as he mentioned it, she liked to spite him sometimes to capture his attention. 

 

    “Just storytelling is all.” Rey replied. 

 

    “Alright, well, if you’re done eating Finn, you’re free to go.” Poe announced as he came back into the living room, his food with him, and taking a seat beside Rey on the sofa while Finn rose from his chair. 

 

    “Of course, you two enjoy the rest of the night, and it was lovely to meet you Rey.” Finn gave Rey a friendly handshake as he bid his goodbye, Poe waving goodbye beside her. 

 

    “It was lovely to meet you too Finn.” Rey smiled. 

 

    Without much else to say, Finn left and quietly shut the door behind him, just leaving Poe and Rey alone together again, and Rey still wearing a smile on her face. 

 

    “How’s the whiskey?” Poe asked, breaking the silence first and taking notice of the broad grin on her face now. 

 

    “It’s delicious, I see why you were saving it.” Rey answered and picked up her glass to take another sip. “Want some?” She asked as she held the glass out to him. 

 

    Poe didn’t say a word as he took the glass from Rey’s hand and downed it all in one gulp, leaving Rey there with a shocked look on her face. 

 

    “I was drinking that!” Rey said as she playfully swatted at Poe’s shoulder. 

 

    “I know, you were drinking it without me.” Poe pointed out. 

 

    “I was in the mood for whiskey.” Rey stated. 

 

    “I’m sure you were.” Poe laughed, leaning over a bit too close now to Rey and staring at her lips while biting down on his own. 

 

    He was so tempted to just kiss her, he’d been tempted the past few days, but that was exactly what she wanted and he wasn’t giving in so easily just yet. Poe pulled away with a smirk on his face and Rey desperately trying to hide her pouting but failing. 

 

    “Want another glass? I’m getting one myself.” Poe said as he rose from his seat. 

 

    “No, I’m fine.” Rey sighed. “Enjoy your whiskey, I’m getting ready for bed.” Rey grabbed her plates and the other food scattered about and piled it up to get thrown out or put the leftovers in the fridge. 

 

    “I got it, you go ahead.” Poe said, he had to admit he was a little let down that Rey was cutting things off already, she usually kept up the flirting and closeness for a bit longer, but with him cutting her off and giving her almost nothing the past week, he couldn’t blame her really. 

 

    “Thanks.” Rey mumbled, getting up from the sofa and walking off to her room, and while Poe assumed she shut the door like always - she didn’t. 

 

    When one walked out of the kitchen in the loft, there was a perfect view down the hallway and into Rey’s bedroom if the door was open. At first Poe thought it was an honest mistake, that she might have been too drunk to remember to shut the door, but when he walked out of the kitchen and saw Rey slowly and methodically stripping out of all of her clothes to slip into some silk and lace nightgown, he knew she did it entirely on purpose. Once she was dressed she turned around and faced him with a bit of a grin, she knew exactly what she was doing, exactly what she wanted, and she knew exactly how to get it. 

 

    “I’ll see you in the morning.” Rey smiled, shutting the door slowly and quietly. 

 

    Poe was left there hesitating, not knowing entirely what to do. He wanted Rey, he knew that much, and there wasn’t all the much keeping him from her really, she lived in the same loft as him and no one had to know, it was probably suspected already by more than a few people who knew him. It didn’t have to be serious, and from the way Rey had been acting, she just wanted one thing out of him as well, not really looking for a serious relationship type of thing. He’d learned a lot about Rey in the time she had been with him, and a relationship person was not who she was in the least. It could just be their thing, they sleep together when they have an itch that needs to be scratched, and if Poe hadn’t had that little bit of whiskey on top of what he drank while he was out flowing through his veins, he wouldn’t have gone up to Rey’s bedroom door and knocked. 

 

    “Yeah?” Rey asked curiously as she opened up the door. 

 

    Poe didn’t say a word, he just cupped her face in his hands and kissed her the way he thought she deserved to be kissed - passionate and loving - holding nothing back for once. Rey responded immediately, not even hesitating for a second, and wrapping her arms around his neck to pull herself closer to him. In one swift motion, Poe scooped Rey up and pushed her up against the wall closest to the door, pinning her there while he let his kiss start to wander down her neck to her shoulder, stopping occasionally to nip at certain areas to get a surprised squeal out of Rey. She never said a word of protest, she just ran her fingers through his hair while her legs were wrapped around his waist to hold herself up, letting out the occasional moan when he kissed in just the right place. 

 

    Poe slid his hands up her thighs now, stopping right as soon as they reached the lacey underwear she was wearing underneath the nightgown. He slid his hands right under the waistband of them and started trying to inch them down, Rey biting back a smile as she tried to lower herself down to the ground safely. As soon as her feet were on the ground, Poe got her underwear down to her ankles in a matter of seconds and she kicked them aside with a grin on her face. 

 

    “Somebody’s eager.” Rey giggled as Poe went back to kissing her neck. 

 

    “You have no idea.” Poe mumbled into her skin. 

 

    “Well, then let’s start evening out the playing field.” Rey said, her hands reaching the bottom of his shirt and starting to tug down on it, indicating that she wanted to get him out of it as soon as possible. 

 

    Poe pulled away from her neck as soon as he felt her tugging on his shirt, helping her get him out of it before returning to kissing whatever part of her he could reach, and Rey’s fingernails grazing over his skin in the most pleasant of ways. Poe’s hand returned to Rey’s thighs, slowly running up her sides and trying to lift her nightgown up, but Rey swatted his hands away with a grin. 

 

    “No way, you’re still wearing more clothes than me.” She smirked as she reached for his pants and undid the button and getting the zipper undone as well. 

 

    “Fine, fine.” Poe couldn’t help but smile back as he got his pants off and kicked to the side. “Better?” 

 

    “Better.” Rey assured him with a grin, giving him a quick peck on the lips. “Though I do think a bed is actually required for what we want to do.” 

 

    “Sometimes, not always.” Poe laughed. “But if it’s a bed the lady wants, it’s a bed the lady gets.” He scooped her up as she let out a squeal of surprise and sat her down on the bed, slowly climbing on top of her with a trail of kiss, his lips pushing the nightgown up inch by inch until her whole lower half was exposed and he returned to kissing her lips. 

 

    Rey tried to wrap her legs around Poe’s waist again, but he moved his hands down to her hips and pinned her down against the mattress, having a different idea in mind. His hands slid up her sides and inched the nightgown up further and further until he let Rey sit up while she tossed it off the bed and returned to kissing his lips. Poe untangled himself from her and started kissing down her entire body, pausing to pay some special attention to her breasts before continuing down, enjoying the feel of her soft skin under his hands. He hesitated right as he reached her lower stomach, and as his eyes met hers, she knew exactly where he was heading and gave him a brief nod of approval before she leaned her head back and started grabbing at the sheets around her, trying to find something to hold on to. 

 

    “Well, aren’t you a sight to behold.” Poe smirked, catching a glimpse of Rey’s own smile, and without wasting more time he took one of Rey’s legs and let her put it over his shoulder while he nuzzled the other leg out of the way and without any real warning at all, he kissed her entrance before licking her clit and getting an immediate moan out of her. 

 

  “ _ Fuck _ , Poe.” Rey moaned out, Poe humming happily against her and only getting another moan out of her as a response. 

 

    It didn’t take long for Rey to start weaving her hands through his hair, her desperately trying to restrain herself from letting her nails dig into his scalp. She started moving her hips in rhythm, trying to chase down his tongue, but all too quickly just as she was getting into it, Poe pulled away a little breathless but with a smirk on his face. Rey wanted to protest, but Poe went to work kissing her hips and biting down at certain points while she felt him slip one of his fingers inside her quickly, more to see if she was wet already than anything else. Rey could tell from that action alone that Poe wasn’t in the mood for something long and slow, he wanted her already and was just waiting for her to be ready for it. Just when Rey thinks that Poe is going to go for it as he climbs back up her and plants kiss after kiss on her collarbone, he looks right at her with the most sincere look in his eyes and she just about wants to melt underneath him. 

 

    “You sure you want to do this?” He asked, his voice was low and husky and something she’d never heard before, not even in their moments of flirting with one another. 

 

    “I’m sure.” Rey answered in a tone just above a whisper, he’d always been so rough and stubborn as all hell, she was sure there wasn’t much of a soft side to him, but he’d been surprising her lately, and he managed to surprise her again with his and how gently and slowly he peeled her nightgown off of her and how he let her run her hands under the waistband of his boxers to start sliding them down and getting them out of the way. 

 

    Rey couldn’t help but watch as he took ahold of his cock and entered her slowly, the further he sank down into her, the more she moaned and eventually gave up on watching and more on trying not to rip the sheets out from under her that she was still grasping in one of her hands. Rey let go of the sheets and made better use of her time clawing into Poe’s back, getting a few moans out of him now from it and wanting to be closer to him with every thrust, pushing into her further and further until she was sure he was completely inside of her. Everything starts slow, Rey wrapping her arms around him and meeting every one of his thrusts with one of her own, and moaning a bit louder than she expected every time Poe’s lips found that one sensitive spot on her neck. But the more Rey digs her nails into his back or lets a moan escape her lips, she notice Poe thrusts just a little bit faster into her, causing her to wrap her legs around his waist and try to hold on. When Rey let out a grunt as opposed to a moan, Poe slowed down and caught his breath a bit before leaning his forehead against her and Rey enjoying the intimate contact. 

 

    “You okay?” Poe managed to finally ask, still a bit out of breath, but the lust in his eyes was replaced with concern as they landed on her hazel eyes, but that didn’t stop him from keeping the slow pace between them again. 

 

    “M’fine.” Rey mumbled, she couldn’t really form proper words past that, all her thoughts had been consumed by Poe and their contact. 

 

    “You sure?” Poe asked with a bit of a chuckle, planting a kiss on her cheek and getting a smile out of her. 

 

    Rey just nodded, pressing a kiss to his nose before reaching for other places to plant kisses, and Poe deciding to keep the slow pace between them which made Rey feel as if their time here together was getting to be more intimate than it originally was. He came at her desperately, ravishing her with kisses when he walked in the door and trying to get her naked as quickly as possible, but now he was trying to make her feel good, something she didn’t think would come out of seducing him and quite frankly, it surprised her, but in the best way possible. They only last a few more minutes into this until Rey starts to lose her rhythm with Poe and her thrusts up to meet him were becoming a bit erratic, her breath hitching, and her back arching up trying to get closer to Poe. 

 

    “Poe, please.” Rey moaned out, her head back on the mattress while she clawed at him, trying to get him closer to her, and Poe just grinned like a fool. 

 

    “Done already?” Poe asked with a twinge of amusement. 

 

    “I  _ need _ to be.” Rey practically growled through her teeth this time, she needed her release like she needed air to breathe. 

 

    “Whatever the lady wants.” Poe mumbled into the curve of her neck, nipping at her skin one last time before pulling away and focusing on keeping up their thrusts while Rey was slowly falling apart. 

 

    Five thrusts later, Rey was letting out a loud and chesty moan, stilling underneath him before slowly trying to ride out the rest of her orgasm with Poe grinning like a fool. She was out of breath, exhausted, all her muscles hurt, and she was covered in a thin layer of sweat that made her skin glisten in the dim light in her room, but she was determined to return the favor. 

 

    “Your turn.” Rey said as she took all the strength she had left and tried to get Poe on his back and somehow succeeding, catching Poe off guard and looking up at her in awe and amazement. 

 

    “Whoa, you’re pretty strong sunshine.” Poe chuckled, resting his hands on her hips that were already at work setting a new pace to try and get him off. 

 

    “Ballerina’s aren’t exactly weak you know.” Rey grinned. “It’s a pretty good workout, but I’m certainly enjoying this workout a lot more.” 

 

    Rey moved her hips in just the right way which cut Poe’s train of thought off and caused him to moan instead, digging his own nails now into Rey’s hips. 

 

    “You’re going to kill me here sunshine.” Poe smirked, regaining his composure a bit. 

 

    “Really? How long has it been then since you’ve been with someone younger? Sounds like I need to get you back in shape.” She giggled and leaned down to start pressing kiss after kiss against his stubbled jaw. 

 

    “It’s been a while, but I think I can handle it.” Poe responded. 

 

    “Oh really?” Rey asked mischievously, and before Poe could say anything else, she moved her hips just so again and Poe could barely keep it together. 

 

    A few thrusts later, Poe came undone himself and spilled inside of her, Rey realized in that moment that they should have used protection, but she figured she would be alright this one time since she was on the pill, as long as it didn’t happen again. But she didn’t focus on that relaxation for too long, everything felt all too good; she felt warm and relieved, she could only imagine Poe felt the same way judging by the grin on his face. It was as if the tension between them had finally been severed, and all Rey wanted was to keep seeing Poe smile like that, she wanted to keep feeling this good and making someone else feel that good. When Poe finally stilled and Rey figured he was spent, she climbed off of him and collapsed beside him on the bed, she knew she was a mess - they were both a mess for that matter - but she was so exhausted and just wanted to stay next to Poe’s body heat for the rest of the night. 

 

    “You know, it’s been a long time since I’ve had sex like that.” Poe admitted, pulling Rey close to his side with his hand around her waist and pressing a kiss to her forehead. 

 

    “Is that a good thing?” Rey asked curiously. 

 

    “A very good thing.” Poe smirked. “When I get some energy back, care to go again?” 

  
    “I’d love to. Who needs sleep anyway.” Rey giggled and pressed a kiss to his jaw. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well, it's been a while since I've updated this fic and I'm sorry about that! I tend to write a lot for whatever inspires me at the moment and I guess this one just kinda slipped away for a bit, but here's a new chapter for you guys!

    Rey had formed a habit with Poe, something that had started out as a one time thing had easily become more than that, and depending on who went to who before going to bed, they stayed in each other’s bedrooms equally. It had gotten to the point where Rey couldn’t sleep without Poe at her side, and how she loved waking up with his limbs tangled with hers. This morning she was making breakfast, wearing only one of Poe’s t-shirts that she snatched as she got out of his bed, trying her best to make some pancakes though she didn’t know Poe’s kitchen all that well just yet. She had her back turned away towards the stove for just a minute and she was surprised by the feeling of two arms wrapping around her from behind and pulling her small frame closer to the warm body behind her. 

 

    “I was trying to surprise you with breakfast.” Rey protested with a bit of a laugh, grabbing his hands around her waist while looking over her shoulder and seeing a smiling Poe leaning on her shoulder, pressing a kiss to his cheek. 

 

    “I can see that, it looks like those pancakes have suffered a bit.” Poe said with a smirk. 

 

    “Hey! At least I tried, and no matter how they look I’m sure they taste good.” Rey giggled. 

 

    “I’m sure they do, because you made them.” Poe assured her, moving his hands onto her hips before pressing a kiss to her cheek this time and pulling away, making Rey wish he was still holding on to her. “Need any help?” 

 

    “No, I think I’ve got it. The bacon’s done and the pancakes are almost done.” Rey said and saw Poe reaching for a piece of bacon that was sitting on one of the plates and Rey swatted his hands away. “If you want to eat it go grab some plates.” 

 

    “Yes, ma’am.” Poe laughed and went to go grab some plates for them. 

 

    Just as the morning seemed like another peaceful one in their little bubble, Poe’s phone started ringing. Rey glimpsed at the caller ID since it was sitting on the counter and she noticed that it was her father calling him. Things had calmed down a bit, or so it seemed, she assumed it was him calling Poe to tell him that Rey was free to go back to her old apartment...she still hadn’t figured out how to tell her father that she wanted to stay, as long as Poe would have her of course. 

 

     “It’s your phone.” Rey called out as Poe walked over to her side and answered it. 

 

    He stayed there for a few minutes, Poe had a smile on his face and all seemed to be going well, but soon his smile faded and he walked out of the kitchen leaving Rey curious as to what was going on in the conversation. Soon Poe returned, he was trying to be cheerful again but it seemed whatever her father had told him over the phone had not been good news. 

 

    “Is everything alright?” Rey asked curiously, dumping the last of the pancakes on the plate and turning off the stovetop, focusing all of her attention on Poe now. 

 

    “Yeah, everything’s fine, nothing to worry about, sunshine.” Poe forced out a smirk and pulled Rey over to him for a quick kiss. 

 

    “Are things getting bad again?” Rey asked curiously, he knew he wanted to protect her from all of this, not only was it his job, but she sensed it was his feelings getting in the middle of it as well, but she had lived in this life all her life, she knew when things were bad and when things were good, she figured she deserved to know. 

 

    “It’d probably be best if we just stayed in tonight and watching a movie or something.” Poe assured her. “Come on, let’s eat this stuff before it gets cold.” 

 

* * *

  
  


    Rey was curled up at Poe’s side in bed, the movie they were watching on his TV in the room was rolling the credits now, she had fallen asleep somewhere during the middle of it, but Poe was still wide awake and turning it off as she leaned up to kiss his jaw. 

 

    “Hey, princess.” Poe yawned, showing some tiredness himself now. “I thought you were knocked out.” 

 

    “I was, but it looks like you’re about to be.” Rey smirked. “Unless you’re up for some fun?” She asked mischievously. 

 

    “I’m always up for some fun with you.” Poe assured her, leaning over and capturing her lips, and just as he was about to deepen the kiss, Rey pulled away. “What’s wrong?” 

 

    “Nothing, I just wanted to change into something a bit more...fun than sweatpants.” Rey said, slipping out of bed. “I’ll be right back, it’s over in my room.” 

 

    “Alright, I can’t wait to see what this is.” Poe sat up in bed a bit straighter and watched her leave the room, she assumed that by the time she’d get back he’d have candles lit around the room, she learned that he liked to do that and he certainly had more of a romantic side than she expected. 

 

    Rey tiptoed around the apartment until she got into her room, searching through her dressers in the dark to try and find what she was looking for. It was something special she’d been saving for the right time with anyone really, it was a ridiculous gift that Jess had given her for her birthday earlier in the year in her attempts to get Rey out there in the dating world again - it was bright pink lingerie decorated with more lace and silk than Rey had ever seen. While Rey still wasn’t sure about how things were going to go with Poe, she had to admit that she was dying to try it out, and now seemed like the perfect time to. Rey was just getting ready to change when she heard someone bump into something out in the living room. 

 

    “Poe? Is that you? You are the most impatient person I’ve ever met.” Rey laughed, when she heard no response, she got a bit worried. “Poe?” 

 

    Rey walked out and was greeted by a masked stranger walking around the living room, the apartment door wide open. 

 

    “POE!” Rey shrieked out, she captured the masked man's attention who was now aiming the gun at her, but she saw Poe quickly leap into action, a gun already in his hands. 

 

    Before the man could shoot at Rey, Poe shot the masked man in the leg, and while it crippled him, it was still enough for the man to turn around and shoot Poe right in the shoulder. Rey bolted into her room and searched under her bed, hoping the gun her father had given her when she moved out on her own was still there. She grabbed the familiar cold metal and checked if there was still ammo in it, turning the safety off, Rey ran out into the room and just reacted immediately, she shot the man square in the chest and kicked the gun away once he collapsed to the floor before running over to Poe. 

 

    “Poe, oh god, please don’t die.” Rey started to feel tears sting her eyes but Poe looked up at her and winced in pain when she pressed down on his shoulder to keep pressure on the wound. 

 

    “Ow, god, I’m alright, I’ve been shot in worse places, trust me sweetheart.” Poe groaned. “Grab my phone off the nightstand and call Finn, tell him to bring others.” 

 

    Rey just nodded and ran into the room, grabbing Poe’s phone with her bloody hands before returning to his side, searching through his contacts to call Finn and putting pressure on his wound again. Killing the man that was on the floor behind them wasn’t even crossing Rey’s mind, all she thought about now was Poe and making sure he was okay, he got shot trying to protect her. 

 

    “Are you okay?” Poe asked, his hand reaching out and resting on Rey’s hip. 

 

    “I’m fine, I didn’t get shot thanks to you.” Rey assured him. 

 

    “Rey...you shot somebody.” Poe said. 

 

    “...I don’t care about that right now, I care about you.” Rey said, though it was starting to gnaw at the back of her mind. 

 

    “I’ll be okay, I just want you to be okay too.” Poe stated. 

 

    Rey gave a faint smile and gave Poe a quick kiss just as Finn finally answered his phone and Rey told him everything that was going on and what had happened and hoped that he got here quick. 

 


End file.
